July 23, 2013

Texas QB Ash says he played with broken ribs in last year's loss to TCU

Texas quarterback David Ash cleared up a lingering question today about the timetable of a rib injury that impacted him in last year's 20-13 loss to TCU on Thanksgiving night.

Ash said he suffered broken ribs on the eighth play of that contest but stayed in the game, eventually completing 10-of-21 passes for 104 yards, with two interceptions. He was eventually replaced by backup Case McCoy, who threw for 110 yards but also suffered an interception.

Ash wound up skipping Texas' next game, a 42-24 loss at Kansas State, before returning as the starter in a 31-27 victory over Oregon State in the Alamo Bowl to cap a 9-4 season. There had been conflicting reports last season about whether Ash was injured during the TCU game or the week before, against Iowa State. Here is Ash's recollection of last year's TCU game:

“The TCU game, I broke my ribs on the eighth play," Ash said. "I think I played till the third quarter, maybe the fourth quarter. It was a tough situation because, on the one hand, I knew I was missing a lot of throws that I normally would make. Where was that point that I was hurting the team? I don’t know. I learned from it. It was a tough situation. I did the best I could in a lot of ways. In a lot of ways, there’s so much regret.”